A Child's Trust

By Sara Schmidt on June 20, 2013

 

A good amount of trust goes into the environment and very nature of Green River Preserve. These children are away from home for up to three weeks and are left with no choice but to trust the counselors and mentors around them almost just as much as they trust their parents.  It’s amazing how these kids react to their newfound social positions.  Activities such as the Climbing Tower where the children trust staff they only recently met to belay them up an unfamiliar structure, only to reach the bottom with a huge smile on their face, is a glorious thing to watch.

      

 It always brightens my day to see how easily kids can let their guard down enough for someone to step in and make a difference on their life.  They haven’t yet experienced the negatives in life that have caused us adults to be untrusting of strangers and friends alike.  Another activity we do here at the Green River Preserve is called Low Ropes, where the kids rely on each other for their own success.  It’s a simple activity, consisting of swinging from one platform to another, but it does so much on a psychological level for a child to gain that trust from his peers.  Every day I continue to see these kids grow, and it is a beautiful thing.  

  

Thank God for Green River Preserve! 

— 
Zechariah C. E. 

Sara Schmidt
Sara Schmidt

Sara Schmidt serves as the Administrative Director and Registrar for Green River Preserve. She is excited to be part of the GRP family in her role which focuses on “all things camper.” Her primary responsibilities include camper registration and billing, camper retention, and the GRP Camp Store. Sara also serves as the Editor of Green River Preserve’s seasonal newsletter, Whispers From The Preserve, and she manages the camper scholarship committee. Her newest endeavor is to help build GRP’s Annual Fund and partnership program.